Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Fauzan has encouraged universities across Indonesia to establish consortiums as a joint platform to help address regional development challenges.
“If we look at the governance of higher education over the years, I believe there have been many positive developments,” Fauzan said here on Sunday.
According to Fauzan, he expressed hope that universities strengthen their contribution to development.
Fauzan emphasized that universities need to continuously evaluate and enhance their role for society.
He said higher education institutions are a strategic asset because they serve as centers for developing human resources. Therefore, the capacity should be directed toward addressing real challenges faced by local communities.
Fauzan specifically highlighted universities in the provinces of Riau and the Riau Islands.
He argued that both regions possess significant development potential while facing distinct challenges.
Riau’s economy is recorded as the sixth largest nationally, while the Riau Islands recorded the third highest growth in Indonesia in the third quarter of 2025.
The provinces also posted a Human Development Index of 80.53, ranking third highest nationally.
However, he stressed that the next challenge is ensuring economic growth is accompanied by stronger job creation.
Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the open unemployment rate in the Riau Islands was 6.94 percent as of February 2025.
Another challenge is inter-regional disparities. In Riau, the poverty rate in the Meranti Islands is recorded at 23.15 percent, compared to 3.14 percent in Dumai City.
In Riau Islands, the highest poverty rate is in Natuna District at 8.06 percent, while in Batam City it is 4.03 percent.
In the health sector, the prevalence of stunting in Riau rose from 13.6 percent in 2023 to 20.1 percent in 2024, exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold.
Fauzan said such development opportunities and challenges cannot be addressed by a single university alone.
He believes that various expertise, programs, resources, and university facilities can be brought together through a university consortium to work on the same goals.
“This consortium is actually building an ecosystem to advance higher education while simultaneously contributing to regional development,” Fauzan said.
He cited the example of a consortium of universities in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) that brought together 27 universities to address stunting and poverty.
Through the Thematic Real Work Lecture (KKN) for Stunting Families, thousands of students are deployed to villages under the guidance of lecturers, while also producing research that can be utilized by local governments.
“Their research focuses on regional problems. So, after they graduate, they can submit dissertations that can serve as basic recommendations for regional policymaking,” Fauzan said.
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Translator: Sean Filo Muhamad, Katriana
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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